Music capsules

April 03, 2007

PATTY GRIFFIN "Children Running Through" (ATO) Country folk in the know - like Emmylou Harris and the Dixie Chicks - have been wise to Patty Griffin's way with a gracefully melodic tune for years now, even if the redheaded songstress hasn't grabbed the brass ring of mainstream success just yet. "Children Running Through" may or may not change that, but it does an excellent job of playing to Griffin's strengths. She's a singer with a crystalline voice that can be powerfully moving, and she's equally skilled at writing songs that are rambunctious (like the rockabilly workout "Getting Ready") and spiritually stirring (the soaring, string-section-powered "Heavenly Day"). She's best, however, at sketching deft vignettes like "Trapeze," a gorgeously sung duet with Harris that's glows with a fragile beauty. - Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer GERALD LEVERT "In My Songs" (Atlantic) - othing could overshadow the talents of R&B crooner Gerald Levert. - ot being the son of one of the mighty O'Jays or singing as one-third of the trio responsible for such slick '80s fare as "Casanova." - ot even death (Levert was 40 when he died in November 2006 from a surfeit of prescription drugs) could dwarf Gerald's unearthly feel for the duskily romantic song. Levert - a satiny-smooth, brusquely beefy singer - never failed in his quest to be sweetly sonorous. That's why he was the "Teddy Bear" of soul. On slow jams like "M'Lady" and "I Don't Get Down Like That," his voice coats each track like molasses from an eyedropper. On funkier, faster stuff like "Wanna Get Up with You" and "DJ Don't," Levert's studly voice maintains the allure of l'amour without tripping over its dancing feet. And when the finale comes - "Is This the Way to Heaven?" - it's all you can do to keep from crying. This record doesn't get four stars because Levert died. This gets four stars because five weren't available. - A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer HARRY CONNICK JR. "Chanson Du Vieux Carre" (Marsalis/Rounder) Pianist Harry Connick Jr. arranged and wrote this thorough New Orleans tribute while on tour away from the storm-ravaged city. The resulting set is a big band recording full of hokey simplicity yet still packing the punch of bourbon-laced bread pudding. Connick, who doesn't sing here - trumpeter Leroy Jones and trombonist Lucien Barbarin inexplicably handle those chores - assembles a fiery oompah band, and puts it through some old-fashioned paces, such as the highstepping "Bourbon Street Parade." Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur" finds the band luxuriating in light tragedy, while "Fidgety Feet" give 14 horns a chance to warble and play off the big pulse set by drummer Arthur Latin and bassist Neal Caine. Mostly though, this is an occasion for Connick, who wrote three of the 12 tracks, to show his chops as a bandleader. He's no denizen of the cutting edge, but it's clear he still cares about New Orleans' fabled jazz. - Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer